(WHNT) — A beloved Nintendo game is heading to the big screen, and fans across the world got a sneak peek on Thursday, after the trailer for “Super Mario Bros.” dropped at New York Comic-Con.
While much of the setup focuses on Mario’s nemesis Bowser, Mario himself, voiced by actor Chris Pratt, appears toward the end of the animated preview heading toward the Mushroom Kingdom. The trailer tops off with Mario’s brother Luigi venturing into what appears to be the Haunted Mansion.
The voice cast also includes Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Charles Martinet, the longtime voice talent for Nintendo’s “Mario” franchise, is still listed in the credits despite being replaced by Pratt.
Some fans, however, appeared to be confused by Mario’s voice, as Pratt seemingly offered no Italian accent at all.
“Mario should have been voiced by @CharlesMartinet obviously,” one Twitter user wrote in response to Nintendo of America’s tweet teasing the trailer.
“Give back Mario’s accent[,] he did nothing to deserve this,” another tweeted.
Others defended Pratt and the filmmakers’ choice for Mario’s voice.
“It would be hard to have the ‘typical’ Mario voice for a whole movies dialogue,” one person wrote. “But I do agree they should have thrown one of his sayings in as he headed off to Mushroom Kingdom.”
“Of course Mario’s voice isn’t ideal but I feel like the actual Mario voice from the video game would be very difficult to do for a whole film. Mario barely [spoke] 10 different sentences in the past 30 years,” another remarked.
Pratt had previously told Variety that he planned to “update” Mario’s voice for the movie.
“I worked really closely with the directors and trying out a few things and landed on something that I’m really proud of and can’t wait for people to see and hear,” he teased in June.
The upcoming animated “Super Mario Bros.” film will be the second feature-length outing for the Nintendo character, after a live-action version of “Super Mario Bros.” starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo in 1993.
“Super Mario Bros.” is set to release on April 7, 2023, seemingly tying in with the opening of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.
